Submission Radio were on hand at the UFC 193 media event in Melbourne Australia’s Etihad Stadium and spoke to Aussie UFC fighters Dan Kelly and Jake Matthews.
May 10th 2015 was not a good day for Jake Matthews and Dan Kelly. The two men share a few key similarities. They’re both Aussies, they’re both UFC fighters, they both competed on the UFC Adelaide card, and on that night they both suffered defeat and left with their first ever professional losses.November 15th looks to be a fresh start for both men as UFC 193 approaches, and with that comes the chance to not only get back on the winning track, but also become a part of history. With the possibility of 70,000 UFC fans packed into one stadium, both Dan and Jake have the chance to fight in front of the biggest crowd the UFC has ever seen in promotional history.
Former Olympian and current UFC Middleweight Dan Kelly will be taking on BJJ specialist Ricardo Abreu and plans on enjoying every second of his long walk to the octagon:
“You’d be silly not to take in the moment. I mean, this is history. We’re gonna be fighting in a stadium. Not many people get to do that. To get to fight in the UFC is one thing, to fight on a numbered card in a stadium, there’s only a handful of fighters in the world [that get the opportunity], and in your home town. It’s gonna be awesome. I can’t wait.”
At only 21 years old, Aussie star Jake Matthews believes that this event means him living out his life’s dream:
“It’s history in the making, this event. I always hoped I’d be in the UFC and that was always the dream, to be here now and all the hard work’s paid off and to be a part of this history changing event. That’s the dream for me, and especially to fight in front of a hometown crowd of this size. Your average UFC event, just the atmosphere is amazing, so this is gonna be like ten times the size of your average event. It’s gonna be crazy. I can’t wait.”
Jake also reflects on his first professional loss in MMA and if that did anything to wilt his signature confidence:
“(laughs) No you’ll see the old Jake Matthews. That fight, you know, fighting on a main card and there was a lot of media beforehand. I’m not gonna lie, it got to my head and I had my head up in the clouds and thought I was something a bit more special than what I am. That definitely played a part. You could see I was in there showboating too much and got caught.”
UFC 193 goes down on November 15th in Melbourne, Australia at Etihad Stadium. The card features an exciting Welterweight title fight between Robbie Lawler and Carlos Condit as it’s main event, as well as an exciting undercard, filled with local and international talent.
Check out the video above for the full interview and don’t forget to subscribe HERE for more UFC 193 coverage, weekly interviews, as well as a new “technique of the week” every Wednesday!
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